The governors of New York and Massachusetts announced on Wednesday that they would end certain mask mandates in their states, joining a growing list of U.S. state leaders planning to lift face-covering rules as the latest COVID-19 surge eases, Trend reports citing Reuters.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said her state would stop requiring people to wear a mask or prove they had received a COVID-19 vaccine when entering most indoor public places, starting on Thursday, thanks to a decrease in COVID cases and hospitalizations.
"This is what we have been waiting for, tremendous progress after two long years," Hochul, a Democrat, said at a news conference. "We're not done, but this is trending in a very, very good direction."
In New York City, the United States' most populous city, a requirement that people show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, gyms, theaters and other indoor places will remain in effect for the time being, the office of Democratic Mayor Eric Adams said.
In Massachusetts, students, teachers and staff will no longer be required to wear masks in schools after Feb. 28, Governor Charlie Baker told a news briefing on Wednesday.
Baker, a Republican, said Massachusetts had "far more tools available to us to deal with the pandemic than we had at the beginning," noting that children are unlikely to become seriously ill from COVID-19 and that his state has the country's second highest child vaccination rate.
New York state officials will decide whether to keep the state's school mask mandate in place during the first week of March, after students return from midwinter break. That decision will take into consideration case numbers, positivity rates and other factors, Hochul said.
Mask mandates will remain in effect in state-regulated healthcare and correctional facilities, according to Hochul.